In the first years after World War II, France experienced a continuous housing crisis. Although the Fourth Republic successfully carried out reconstruction following the war, this did not substantially reduce housing requirements, which were intensified by urbanization, population growth, the repatriation of one million French nationals from Algeria, immigration, and the deterioration of buildings (by the turn of the 21st century, 35 percent of the nation’s housing predated 1948). The government encourages construction through premiums, loans (particularly for low-rent housing), and tax incentives. Municipal and other public bodies also have engaged in a vast program of subsidized public housing (habitation à loyer modéré; HLM), which was especially prominent in the 1960s and ’70s. In 1970 the procedure for receiving building permits for private construction was greatly simplified, and since 1982 mayors have been responsible for granting construction permits and devising local housing policies for both the public and private sectors. The government has also sought to encourage home ownership through low-interest loans. As a result of continuing suburbanization, far greater emphasis is now placed on building houses rather than apartments. From the late 1960s city planning in France became more organized through such programs as zone d’aménagement concerté (ZAC), which often link both private and public developers. Reforms in 2000 updated long-term development plans (schéma de cohérence territoriale; SCOT) and detailed land-use plans (plan local d’urbanisme; PLU). The current emphasis of urban policy is on rehabilitation, particularly of the many peripheral housing estates built in the 1960s and ’70s but also of older central districts.

Wages and the cost of living

Despite a history of high inflation, over recent years levels have been similar to those of other industrialized countries. Indeed, since the mid-1980s inflation has been particularly low in France. A minimum wage law has been in effect since 1950, and since 1970 it has been supplemented by a provision known as the salaire minimum interprofessionel de croissance (SMIC; general and growth-indexed minimum wage), which has increased the lowest salaries faster than the inflation rate. Its level is set annually, and all employers must abide by it. Women are, in general, paid less well than men. A worker earns nearly twice as much in Paris as in the less-developed départements of central France. The differentials between the earnings of manual workers and those of managers, while still large, have diminished progressively. In general, the majority of French society has benefited from a very substantial increase in purchasing power over the last half century.

The organization of national education is highly centralized. Since 1968, however, following rioting among university students seeking a greater voice in their administration, a movement toward decentralization has been in progress in higher education. Reforms have sought to modify the character and structure of education, not only at the university level but also in primary and secondary schools; in the latter case one of the principal government aims has been to enable 80 percent of secondary-school students to obtain their baccalauréat.

University students clashing with police in the streets of Paris, 1968.

Stock footage courtesy The WPA Film Library

France has both public and private education. All public education is free and is administered by the Ministry of National Education, which draws up the curricula, employs the staff, and exercises its authority through rectors placed at the heads of academies. However, while the state retains control of the educational programs and faculty, responsibility for the provision and maintenance of schools has been decentralized since the early 1980s; the communes look after primary schools, while in secondary education the départements are responsible for the collèges and the régions maintain the lycées.

Primary and secondary education

Education is free and compulsory between the ages of 6 and 16. Children under the age of 6 can attend écoles maternelles (nursery schools). Primary schools provide elementary education for those between the ages of 6 and 11. Secondary education begins in the collèges from the ages of 11 to 15 with further secondary education offered in general or technical lycées, leading to the national baccalauréat examination. Courses of study lasting for two or three years can lead to professional certificates or diplomas. School councils allow teachers and representatives of parents (and pupils at the secondary level) to gather to discuss the operation of schools.

Higher education

Following the student riots of May 1968, higher education was profoundly changed with the enactment of reforms on November 12, 1968, though many centralizing features from the past remain. Previously, universities had been divided into faculties or colleges according to the subjects taught. After 1968 the faculties were replaced by teaching and research units regrouped into autonomous multidisciplinary universities comanaged by representatives elected from among the teaching staff, students, and administration. These institutions substantially determine their own research programs, teaching methods, and means of assessment. Much of the curriculum is still validated at the national level, however.

The state grants funds to the universities, which they divide among their departments. The degrees awarded are the licence (roughly comparable to the British-American bachelor’s degree), maîtrise (master’s degree), and doctorate. There are also special teaching qualifications, one of which is the agrégation, a rigorous competitive examination. Traditional university courses were considerably diversified by the creation of specialized technological sections (Instituts Universitaires de Technologies; IUT) in 1966 and by the establishment in 1991 of vocational units (Instituts Universitaires Professionnalisés; IUP), which work closely with businesses. Students may also apply to a number of prestigious grandes écoles, which are even more highly regarded than the universities, especially in the engineering and technical fields. The best-known among these is the École Polytechnique (“Polytechnic School”); founded in 1794 to recruit and train technicians for the army, it has become the most important technical school in both the public and private sectors.

Situated in northwestern Europe, France has historically and culturally been among the most important countries in the Western world. Former French colonies in every corner of the globe attest to the country’s stature in world affairs. The French language ranks second only to English in international use, and French culture has spread far and greatly influenced the development of art and science, particularly anthropology, philosophy, and sociology. France is Europe’s most important agricultural producer, providing wheat, wine, and other food products to the world, as well as an industrial power. The capital, Paris, is a preeminent cultural and commercial center. Area 210,026 square miles (543,965 square kilometers). Population (2015 est.) 64,295,000.